INTENSITY²
Start here => Free For ALL => Topic started by: Al Swearegen on August 23, 2018, 08:05:23 AM
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This is funny.
Our little team at work is growing quite substantially, because the work is growing quite substantially. We are getting another couple of newbies.
We deal exclusively with two platforms. I do REALLY crappy at one and REALLY well in another. My Manager came over today and said "Look you are really good at speaking with people and have a pretty good way of listening and explaining things. You are a people person. You also are completely across (the platform I know). So I was thinking you would be a really good fit to train the new people on (that platform). I want you to think on this and what and how you will go about this. (My Supervisor - who happens to be one of the most knowledgeable people on the Platform) is very smart and technical but not much of a people person. I reckon you would do really well. You empathise and put people at ease. You have a nice easy manner"
Aspie trainer. Empathy. People person. I think it was nice in a hilarious way.
I think it will be cool and I am up for it, but I think his way of describing me is funny as Hell.
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Your new mug:
(https://i.imgur.com/HttDxyT.jpg)
If you actually get one, hopefully you've had your feet under the table for a good while and that you have an understanding boss.
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I have fronted stand-up training before. Was told my voice was too monotonous and I was putting people to sleep. That I should try talking like a DJ. I imagine I would sound ridiculous trying to explain how to interface a lending system to an accounting system in a sing-song voice.
These days I spend most of my time on a chatting tool (similar to messenger, or skype without the video). Interfacing with 2 offshore teams. It gives me a chance to choose my words carefully and hopefully come across as more of a people person than I usually do.
Good luck with the training Al.
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I have fronted stand-up training before. Was told my voice was too monotonous and I was putting people to sleep. That I should try talking like a DJ. I imagine I would sound ridiculous trying to explain how to interface a lending system to an accounting system in a sing-song voice.
These days I spend most of my time on a chatting tool (similar to messenger, or skype without the video). Interfacing with 2 offshore teams. It gives me a chance to choose my words carefully and hopefully come across as more of a people person than I usually do. Similarly someone talking unadulterated crap in a very nice or pleasant voice has never done it for me.
Good luck with the training Al.
I, apparently, have a radio voice and as my friend reminds me, a face made for radio too.
To be completely honest, I have always thought it matters far more WHAT a person is saying than HOW they say it. I am more than happy to listen to someone with an unusual voice or a speech impediment if what they are saying is interesting. But that is not across the board.
Thanks for the well-wishing. Unexpected but appreciated
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I speak very proper and very clearly. People often remark on it.
It's just that my voice is more than a bit tonally flat.
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This is funny.
Our little team at work is growing quite substantially, because the work is growing quite substantially. We are getting another couple of newbies.
We deal exclusively with two platforms. I do REALLY crappy at one and REALLY well in another. My Manager came over today and said "Look you are really good at speaking with people and have a pretty good way of listening and explaining things. You are a people person. You also are completely across (the platform I know). So I was thinking you would be a really good fit to train the new people on (that platform). I want you to think on this and what and how you will go about this. (My Supervisor - who happens to be one of the most knowledgeable people on the Platform) is very smart and technical but not much of a people person. I reckon you would do really well. You empathise and put people at ease. You have a nice easy manner"
Aspie trainer. Empathy. People person. I think it was nice in a hilarious way.
I think it will be cool and I am up for it, but I think his way of describing me is funny as Hell.
How is this going, Al? It's been a while.
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Doing well. I was surprised.
There is one ladder-climber in the team that I have been clashing with rather loudly with unfortunately. She sees me as competition and perhaps as someone that could derail her imagined justified and meteoric rise in the company.
It does make things a bit dicey. She is fortunately very self-invested and everyone is waking up to her.
As the work is looking to increase 300% in the next six months and we are scrambling to keep up with it now, they are looking to outsource most of the low key work offshore and we get to do the more technical stuff. I am looking to help arrange this. I have been asked to and will put some proposals in place so that the staff who are offshore do a job of collection of data mostly. So in doing so they need to know what to ask and what to prioritise and such. I also have to consider what the various managers may go for, what the customers would be able to put up with (ie their 60-70% first contact fix and dealing with a knowledgeable trained onshore as to what will be someone offshore who is likely to give very limited assistance), what the new team will be able to transition too and easily trained up for process-wise, and also what will if not streamline things for us, then at least make it viable in the medium term and long term.
It is "interesting" times.
Thanks for asking
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Sounds like it's not getting any easier! I hope it's not too much stress for you. Sounds complicated as well.
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Sounds like it's not getting any easier! I hope it's not too much stress for you. Sounds complicated as well.
Long-term I think it will be okay. Short term it is not going to be fun. Especially with this other person. She will both seek to derail me and propose counter solutions that she can take credit for and will benefit her. She has started sowing seeds and has her nose out of joint from last time we clashed and she got humiliated. Bad blood. Essentially she wants to elevate herself and "our role" as a much more specialist and niche role because then we can make a case for the role being on a higher pay level and nicer title. It is very self-invested and a terrible idea on so many levels. Top of the list is that the company have laid off heaps of people and she is trying to find a way to trick or slyly play management into placing them into a position where they are forced into elevating us or scuttling the whole idea, The guys in the team we split from who were promised they would not be disadvantaged from the split will revolt against this (not that she would give a shit), I would be able to meet that standard and she would but no one else in our team likely could (again not that she would give a shit, but I would and would likely waste my time trying to try to help the others at my expense).
So short term between that and getting it across the managers and them all on board is going to be ugh.
Midterm all the problems we never accounted for or expected and all the challenged we fail to meet will be exposed and band aided and have knock on effects and we will scramble trying to bed down the practices and processes.
Long term I think it will be good. I think long term we will all be better off.
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Well.....my supervisor is going into a technical role. This will mean that his supervisor role will be getting advertised.
My "competitor" in the team has tried co-opting my training role a bit. She is like a virus - hard to contain. The problem is she had already been interviewed for a higher duties tech role and according to her well placed to get it but if she doesn't get it my supervisor's role will come up and she WILL apply and the two best placed to get it will be her and me.
This means if she does not get this role away then she will become my supervisor.
if you are wondering if I know how she would get it above me, I will not be applying. Fuck being a supervisor. Fuck all pay increase and heaps more responsibility and stress. Since my heart attack I keep work stress to a minimum.
The problem is that she WILL be a good supervisor if she gets it BUT her attitude is fucked and I have butted heads really hard with her and will have to a few times again and it will make things awkward. Not great for the team. It is hard to show yourself to be a reliable, friendly and approachable, if you are getting aggro with a senior member and having one on ones with the manager and being angry.
It is not the image I cultivate at work. It is not my framework. I am the easy-going, humorous, aloof guy that everyone gets on but no one really knows and I don't therefore know anyone else. This interaction even if necessary is stressful and pretty fucked all around.
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Well.....my supervisor is going into a technical role. This will mean that his supervisor role will be getting advertised.
My "competitor" in the team has tried co-opting my training role a bit. She is like a virus - hard to contain. The problem is she had already been interviewed for a higher duties tech role and according to her well placed to get it but if she doesn't get it my supervisor's role will come up and she WILL apply and the two best placed to get it will be her and me.
This means if she does not get this role away then she will become my supervisor.
if you are wondering if I know how she would get it above me, I will not be applying. Fuck being a supervisor. Fuck all pay increase and heaps more responsibility and stress. Since my heart attack I keep work stress to a minimum.
The problem is that she WILL be a good supervisor if she gets it BUT her attitude is fucked and I have butted heads really hard with her and will have to a few times again and it will make things awkward. Not great for the team. It is hard to show yourself to be a reliable, friendly and approachable, if you are getting aggro with a senior member and having one on ones with the manager and being angry.
It is not the image I cultivate at work. It is not my framework. I am the easy-going, humorous, aloof guy that everyone gets on but no one really knows and I don't therefore know anyone else. This interaction even if necessary is stressful and pretty fucked all around.
Any way to avoid the head-butting, maybe by going "Gray Rock" on her? :orly:
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Well.....my supervisor is going into a technical role. This will mean that his supervisor role will be getting advertised.
My "competitor" in the team has tried co-opting my training role a bit. She is like a virus - hard to contain. The problem is she had already been interviewed for a higher duties tech role and according to her well placed to get it but if she doesn't get it my supervisor's role will come up and she WILL apply and the two best placed to get it will be her and me.
This means if she does not get this role away then she will become my supervisor.
if you are wondering if I know how she would get it above me, I will not be applying. Fuck being a supervisor. Fuck all pay increase and heaps more responsibility and stress. Since my heart attack I keep work stress to a minimum.
The problem is that she WILL be a good supervisor if she gets it BUT her attitude is fucked and I have butted heads really hard with her and will have to a few times again and it will make things awkward. Not great for the team. It is hard to show yourself to be a reliable, friendly and approachable, if you are getting aggro with a senior member and having one on ones with the manager and being angry.
It is not the image I cultivate at work. It is not my framework. I am the easy-going, humorous, aloof guy that everyone gets on but no one really knows and I don't therefore know anyone else. This interaction even if necessary is stressful and pretty fucked all around.
Any way to avoid the head-butting, maybe by going "Gray Rock" on her? :orly:
No, not really. I will hope she gets the job.
One of the newer guys there (Been there 2 months - we have blown out from 4 to 12 in 6 months) said when she was away on holidays "When will (she) be back?"
I asked "Why mate, you missing her?"
He recoiled "HELL NO!!!"
I laughed my arse off. I downplayed it and said she was a but difficult but that she had some good ideas and was knowledgeable and such"
He said she made him feel like an idiot when he went to her for help. The truth is that is her all over. She is all about her. I am not that guy.
We deal with two products I am really good at one and so is she and to the same level. She is pretty good at the other and I am completely retarded at the other, even after 18 months of exposure. She is also one of these people who makes a song and dance of every slight variation of policy, process, procedure or practice makes everything a drama. She has to be everyone's business and across all things and be noticed. I am COMPLETELY not that guy.
No we WILL butt heads for a time and eventually it will settle down. I will not get any pushback from anyone for it but it is awkward and I hate awkward.
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How you describe it, you should be the one getting the job. That is, if the company wants their employees to stay relatively healthy. (that job of yours is not the most healthy job in the world)
It's the supervisor who can motivate, but who also can keep stress levels low and atmosphere pleasant who will be getting the most motivated employees and the most consistent output.
The way you describe her, she'd be burning through people, getting maximum outcome from everyone. But also unmotivated workers. And probably lots more who will either leave for another job or because of illness.
I'm rooting for wisdom in the ones making this decision.
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Yeah from what you've described of her, she doesn't sound like a particularly good supervisor.
That said, I totally get not wanting the supervisor job yourself. It's basically the same reasons I never want one.
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Yeah from what you've described of her, she doesn't sound like a particularly good supervisor.
That said, I totally get not wanting the supervisor job yourself. It's basically the same reasons I never want one.
Yes I do not see that it is worth the extra money.
I mean I also get entirely why she may want it. It promotes her credibility, gives her a step on her promotional run, gives her the ability to lord over other her authority. I hope rather than believe that this may actually change her demeanour. MAYBE having the kind of power and recognition she obviously craves will make her a happier and more complete person and not the hyper-competitive, pedantic, bossy, person trying to one-up everyone and make the place wrap around her desires and thoughts. I have my doubts.
Still maybe she will get the other job she applied for and it will be a moot point
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I'm psychic. I sense more drama coming in your work situation. Good luck. Keep your head down and kiss arse is probably the best strategy. I have a feeling that you will do the polar opposite of that but.
We've been losing people in our QA team. Down to just 2, both really good, one exceptional. After training/guiding them and building up their confidence for months now... the exceptional one has asked if I can be a reference for her in a job she is applying for. I will give her an awesome reference but I'd rather my company hadn't done such a great job of making people uncertain about their future.
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I'm psychic. I sense more drama coming in your work situation. Good luck. Keep your head down and kiss arse is probably the best strategy. I have a feeling that you will do the polar opposite of that but.
We've been losing people in our QA team. Down to just 2, both really good, one exceptional. After training/guiding them and building up their confidence for months now... the exceptional one has asked if I can be a reference for her in a job she is applying for. I will give her an awesome reference but I'd rather my company hadn't done such a great job of making people uncertain about their future.
The irony is for all her faults she is not a terrible person. She is also VERY good at the work. I will not fault her for her performance (other than to say she talks a bigger game than what she brings). If she was more modest and not prepared to waterboard us continually with how terrible everything is and how it must be fixed and to her specifications and her willingness to undercut everyone to get ahead.
As for doing the opposite. Well yes I will and it is bad for the section. But possibly surprising for some to hear is that it is under sufferance.
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The Boss decided to make that lady temporary appointment of supervisor. Interesting. So far okay. She is a little full of herself but that is not so bad yet
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Well, I have been the trainer for a while. I then adopted the supervisor role and then have become the escalation point, something that takes up most of my time to be honest. The manager is now looking at me to be a relief manager for him and fill in for him when he is not there. I am probably skill set and personality wise the best person for it BUT there are people in more senior roles than me that I will be overseeing at such time and it will get a few noses out of joint I predict. It will also mean that the duties I created for myself will probably encroach on that too.
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Welcome back.
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Good luck with the stress and drama of it.
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Hey Al :)
I only just caught this thread. Sorry. Or else I would surely have wished you well along with everybody else.
But the good thing is that my state of suspense about how this pans out for you didn't last long. Really pleased to hear you're doing good. :)
Yep, it's funny to hear an Aspie described as a ""people person"" :LOL: but I think your boss was really onto something there. I'm thinking of all the good, patient advice that you've often offered on our more private boards. You really are a good listener and I don't think that's uncommon for an Aspie at all. I think that many of us are genuinely interested in other people..as opposed to that superficial , rote, stage-managed crap that neurotypicals are pleased to call social interaction. So we tend to make good calls when it actually matters. And we often do make good supervisors, if we can be co-opted into the role.
As for that co-worker of yours...I guess she's finally got it into her thick skull that you're not a competitor after all , so now she's turned on her charm with you instead. I'd continue to be wary thiough. People with that degree of self-interest don't change character overnight, and i do believe she'll make a really crappy supervisor, and is probably making somebody's life a misery, if not yours.
Like they say, people who really want to have positions of power are the last people we ought to appoint to the same :LOL:
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Thanks. Yes that other co-worker is gone and has moved to another department. Word is they refuse to have mewtings with her and the friction is palpable. Not my issue :)
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After two hours unpaid overtime after work today I have a few misgivings.
My Manager is a gem. He really is the best. No stress. Not one of those that is overly fussy about when someone gets back from break and into work or when work is nuts. Very mellow. He expects people will do their jobs and does not suffer fools but so long as you put in and do your best he does not mind. As a consequence, everyone who works for him loves him. He also is prepared to back you if you are in the right. I know some of you may find it difficult to believe but I have had a couple of run-ins with a couple of people. I was in the right and sticking up for the team and my team mates and he said "Fair enough. Tell them to come to me if they have an issue". (They never did. In fact I never have spoken to those people since).
One thing I notice about him though is that he does not have pretty much any clue about what we do. He is all about knowing broadstrokes and processes and identifying when process fails or could be tightened. As a result he is not really an escalation point. He just forwards any escalations to me. He has a degree in IT but he has not got any clue of the technical aspects of what we do or the products. Like pretty much at all. He does not care to know. So people do not seek him out for that. I am one of the main points for that.
The last two days I was in back of house. We share this. Two days every fortnight or so. It is okay. Attending inboxes, logging cases. Attending issues, and queue management. Essentially the kind of work no one can get to ordinarily and is left for the back of house person or when you are really quiet, which pretty much doesn't happen. It is okay. It has variety which I like. We are REALLY behind because we are short staffed.
So my goal was to get in and smash it. Get the team up to date.
It fell into a hole from the moment I got in yesterday. Escalation after escalation, advice after advice, and helping out others. One of the guys who works around us who used to be Supervisor there, walked over and said "You up for a game of pool" I told him "I was getting fucking smashed" he said "Yeah, I can tell. You can only do what you can do. You have to start pushing back on some things, they rely on you too much". He was right (and he beat me in pool).
But it has me thinking. If I start filling in as Manager, who are my escalations and supervisor enquiry an specialist advice and training support all going to go to while I am trying to be Manager? The big one of the lot is escalations not just because the people who reach out to me are reaching out more often but they refer others to reach out to me too. Probably have to learn to delegate? Bit worried. I can see it all going to shit